


I Know You

by mohinikapuahi



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Community: 1_million_words, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-26 11:43:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/650168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mohinikapuahi/pseuds/mohinikapuahi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world faded out around Steve as he heard Chin’s words.  His vision blacked and he sank back against his seat as he struggled to maintain control of his body.  When he opened his eyes he could see the concern in the older man’s face as he continued to talk, but he couldn’t force words around the knot in his throat.  It couldn’t be true.  He wouldn’t believe it was true, he would know if it was, wouldn’t he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Know You

“Danny’s dead.” 

The world faded out around Steve as he heard Chin’s words. His vision blacked and he sank back against his seat as he struggled to maintain control of his body. When he opened his eyes he could see the concern in the older man’s face as he continued to talk, but he couldn’t force words around the knot in his throat. It couldn’t be true. He wouldn’t believe it was true, he would know if it was, wouldn’t he? Steve tried to stand, but his knees had turned to jelly and refused to lock, making him flop back down into his chair boneless, barely able to suppress the shivers that were starting to shake his body. A few moments ago he had been warm enough to consider opening the windows, but now his skin prickled with goose bumps.

“Steve.” Chin’s voice broke into his mental rambling. “Are you okay?”

“It’s not them.” Steve managed to grind out between tightly clenched teeth; his fists balled so tightly his knuckles whitened.

“The coastguard has confirmed that it was Stan’s boat.” Chin responded flatly, his sad eyes watching his friend and boss closely as he unravelled.

“Maybe he wasn’t on board.” Steve murmured his voice husky around the lump of emotion that was choking him.

“Steve. Don’t do this to yourself. You know that he texted you from the dock earlier today. Please.” Chin dropped into the chair in front of Steve’s desk. “His phone and badge were on the body.”

“I want to see him.” Steve stood quickly, closing his eyes as the world swirled around him. He scrabbled in his desk drawer for the keys to the Camaro, belatedly remembering that the car, Danny’s car was at the Dock waiting for Danny to come home.

“Max said that isn’t a good idea.”

“I don’t care. I want to see him.”

“You won’t even know it’s him Steve.” Chin stepped around the desk, reaching out a hand to touch Steve’s back, “Let’s just wait for the DNA results.”

Shrugging out from under Chin’s hand, he choked back the sob that threatened to erupt from his throat, Steve let his eyes drop closed, struggling to control his sorrow and anger. Pulling himself up to his full height, he squared his shoulders until he stood at attention behind his desk, turning his head to Chin he spoke in a hoarse rasp.

“I’m going.”

Chin looked into the flat emptiness of Steve’s eyes and knew that nothing was going to stop him.

“I’ll drive, brah.”

Steve pushed past Chin and through the office door. Kono, her eyes welling with tears stood outside the office and reached up to rub her hand gently across Steve’s bicep.

“I’m sorry, Steve.” She murmured.

“Not now, Kono.” Steve almost barked as he watched a point on the wall over her head. “Not now.”

Chin walked out of the office behind Steve, the Silverado keys he’d retrieved from Steve’s desk in his hand.

“We’re all going.” Chin looked at Kono, his head shaking minutely at her slight shrug.

By the time Chin and Kono reached Steve’s truck, he was belted into the front passenger seat, his fisted hands sitting on his thighs as he waited for them.

It was thankfully a short drive, Steve unmoving, maintaining his unblinking gaze out the windscreen, unaware of the worried glances his teammates were exchanging in the mirror.

Unbuckled and exiting the truck before it had come to a complete stop, Steve was striding into the building and Max’s office, with Chin and Kono chasing along behind him.

“Commander McGarrett, what are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to identify my partner.” Steve never looked at Max as he spoke, his head turned to look through the glass window and the shrouded tables therein.

“I explained to Lt Kelly that would be impossible.” Max explained.

“I’ll know.” Steve growled, “Now are you going to show me or am I going to go in there and do it for myself.”

“Commander…Steve. Please this will do no-one any good. It will be more advantageous for you to remember him the way he was.”

“I don’t need to remember him, Max.”

“Please, Commander, as a personal favour for me, please don’t do this.” Max almost pleaded.

Steve dropped his gaze to look into Max’s face, eyes glazed with his pain, “Max, buddy, I need to do this.”

Max looked into Steve’s face for a long moment, then sighed deeply. “Alright, commander.” He nodded stiffly, “I understand.”

“Thank you.” Steve breathed, his shoulders slumping out of the stiff bearing he’d maintained since Headquarters.

Max walked past him glancing at Chin and Kono, lifting a file off of his desk as he passed.

“If you’d like to follow me.” Max opened the folder as he walked. “At approximately 2.37pm this afternoon, an explosion was noticed by beachgoers. The coastguard was despatched and recovered four bodies. The yacht belonged to a Mr Stan Edwards. Persons on board included Mr Edwards, his wife Rachel, her ex-husband Detective Daniel Williams, the ship’s captain and two minors, one Grace Elizabeth Williams and an infant Charles Edwards. The Coastguard is currently searching for the bodies of the minors but given the size of the explosion there is the possibility that there are no viable remains to be found.” Max paused as his voice caught on the words he was reading. “The remains that were recovered have been tentatively identified by their personal effects, but we are awaiting more conclusive DNA results. Due to the severity of the damage to the remains cause of death may only remain supposition. However, it is considered that the explosive incendiary device was the cause.”

“I need to see him, Max.” Steve’s whispered plea silenced Max’s explanation. “Please.”

Max placed the folder on a counter and stood opposite Steve, on the opposite side of a shrouded table. “I really don’t think this is a good idea, Commander, the bodies were extensively damaged, none of them were completely recovered.”

Steve looked at him silently, tears welling in his eyes at the suffering he now knew had been endured.

“Alright Commander.” Max sighed, “You need to be prepared.”

Steve stepped forward, closing his eyes briefly; he looked into Max’s face and nodded.

Max pulled the sheet back to exposing the corpse to chest level. As he looked down everything hit him at once. The smell of burnt flesh and disinfectant assailed his senses, making his mouth fill with bile. He swallowed convulsively trying to suppress the need to empty the meagre contents of his stomach. The body on the slab in front of him was barely even human anymore, most of the right side of the body was missing and from the way the sheet laid flat against the slab, his legs were gone too. What remained was burnt beyond recognition. There was no hair, no body markings nothing left that made this piece of burnt meat his Danny.

Steve’s knees buckled, his hands gripping the edge of the slab the only thing keeping him upright.

Chin stepped forward and pressed a hand to Steve’s back. “C’mon Steve, you need to go.”

Steve shook his head, unable to form the words to acknowledge Chin’s statement.

Kono stepped forward. Tears trickling down her cheeks she slipped an arm around Steve’s waist.

“C’mon Boss. He wouldn’t want you to remember him like this.”

Steve took a deep breath and stepped back away from their touch. 

“Stop telling me what I need, and for God’s sake stop telling me what he would want.” Steve growled at them. 

“That is not Danny.” He waved a hand towards the body, “I don’t know who it is, but it’s not my Danny.”

“Actually Commander, I beg to differ. I’m afraid Detective Williams' badge, holster and wallet were found on the remains.” Max spoke quickly.

“That doesn’t mean anything. Circumstantial at best.” Steve shook his head and stepped forward, his hand trembling as he reached out to touch the burned remains. “I need a minute alone.” His fingers traced a path along the muscles burned to tight cords. “Now.” He demanded.

The other three looked between themselves, Chin wrapped an arm around Kono’s waist and led her out through Max’s office and into the corridor where they would wait for as long as was needed. Max paused briefly at Steve’s side, one hand tentatively touching Steve’s forearm.

“I understand, Com…Steve. When you are done can you please cover him again?”

Steve nodded, listening as Max walked out of his office closing the door behind him.

Steve pulled the sheet back, his tear filled eyes taking in every detail of the body in front of him. In theory it could be Danny, the same muscular shoulders, the same slender hips, but Steve refused to believe it. This didn’t feel like his Danny.

“I told them you wouldn’t buy it.” Danny’s voice spoke in his head.

“Wouldn’t buy what, Buddy?” Steve’s fingers traced the incinerated jawline.

“Steve? Look at me Babe.” 

“I am, D.” Steve’s bottom lip quivered as he spoke, sure that he had just checked out of sanity. He'd seen bodies before, even friends but they'd never spoken. But then no one had ever been like Danny to him.

“No behind you, you big goof.” Danny’s exasperated sigh penetrated his grief stricken thoughts.

Steve took a deep breath and turned, blinking rapidly, long held tears finally falling.

“Danny?” Steve murmured, his eyes hungrily drinking in the sight of his partner, standing in the small room attached to Max’s office quite clearly alive.

“Yeah it’s me Babe.” Danny, his eyes filled with tears at what he had just witnessed, walked forward and pulled Steve into his arms for a tight hug. “I wanted to tell you, I begged them to tell you so in the end I went AWOL.”

“I don’t understand.” Steve spoke into Danny’s hair, reluctant to release him, his brain stumbling over Danny's words as he tightened his arms and held on for dear life.

“WitSec. Stan has a hit on him. I couldn’t let someone else protect my Monkey so they agreed to let me go too.”

“So Rachel and Grace?” Steve lifted his head enough to look into Danny’s face.

“Would I be standing here like this if they were anything other than fine?” 

“They’re safe?” Steve asked, pulling Danny into a tighter embrace.

“That’s why I couldn’t get to you at headquarters; I had to make sure they were secure first.”

“They let you go?” Steve mumbled, “The WitSec people?”

“Hell no!” Danny pulled out of Steve’s embrace and pulled a hand through his already tousled hair. “They threatened to drop me out of the program until I made them see the error of their ways.”

“When do you have to go back?” Steve reached out to lay a hand on Danny’s shoulder, needing the tangible touch to reassure himself that his partner was still with him.

“Now.” Danny shrugged, “I just wanted… No, I needed to tell you. I know how much that news would hurt me. I wasn’t going to let you suffer like that. No matter how much you sometimes deserve it.”

“Thank you.” Steve sighed, “Can I tell Chin and Kono?”

Danny nodded, jamming his hands into his pockets and watching Steve closely, “I’ll only be gone a week, two at the most.”

Steve pulled Danny into a tight embrace, closing his eyes and absorbing the knowledge that he was alive and everything would be alright with his world again.

**Author's Note:**

> So I know this was oversimplified and probably OOC but this scene took over my brain this afternoon and wouldn't let up until I let it out.


End file.
